Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Epilogue”

In this activity, students use evidence from the text to imagine what happens after the novel ends and present their story in a format of their choosing.

At the end of the novel, Falk discovers what happened to Ellie. Create an epilogue in the form of a newspaper story, a breaking news video, or another form of media describing what happened after Falk found Ellie’s diary.

• Describe how Falk discovered that Ellie was murdered by Deacon.
• Explain what evidence was found to implicate Deacon and Grant. Include details from the text to reinforce your story.
• Interview a local resident about the discovery of Ellie’s murder.
• Present your epilogue to your peers.

Teaching Suggestion: At the end of the novel, readers never learn whether anything happened to Deacon and Grant after it was determined that they had murdered Ellie. Here, they write or present their own ending to Ellie’s story by researching other news articles or similar stories that explain how the police solved a crime. It may be beneficial for students to brainstorm, outline, and/or script their video or recorded segments before recording.